Longing For
by Mewlon
Summary: Rouge always got whatever she wanted. What she wants most in the Master Emerald, however Knuckles won't have any of it. What happens when she realizes that the emerald she wanted most was red and not green. Knuckles x Rouge


_I really don't know what possessed me to do this one shot, but I got the idea from somewhere. Part of it was inspired by the fic called "Poison" which I recommend you reading. Anyway, it has been a while since I've written anything in the Sonic fandom, so I hope this comes out okay._

This fic is a Knux x Rouge fic. If you don't like the coupling, please don't flame. If you do, then please continue reading.

**Longing For**

Shadow shook his head at the sight before him. His ruby colored eyes were focused all on the figure that was sitting in front of him. The black and red hedgehog couldn't believe his eyes at how pigheaded his friend was. He didn't know why he kept doing this week after week. Sure it was the least he could do since she was letting him stay at her place, but he was growing tired of week after week of tending to her wounds. He played around with the white towel that was inside of bowl of warm water that was standing on at table next to the wounded figure.  
The white colored figure that was sitting in front of Shadow let out a bloodied smirk as she tried to open her right eye. Her left wing was crippled from the last fight she had with the one she called her rival. She looked over at the black hedgehog; trying to tell him that she was alright. That nothing could ever faze or beat Rouge the Bat, the greatest treasure hunter in the world.  
"You really need to stop doing this," Shadow said in response to Rouge's smirk.  
"Stop what?" Rouge asked as if she didn't know what he meant.  
"You know what I mean. One of these days its going to get too personal and you might not return to your home anymore. Aside from that, I'm getting tired of healing your wounds when you come back empty handed."  
"Oh Shadow," Rouge scoffed, "don't be so pessimistic. You know that once I set my sights on something, I must get what I want. As for response to you getting tired of healing my wounds, I didn't ask you to do so."  
"I know…but knowing you, you'd probably go stupidly into battle again with him and without healing yourself. Why don't you just admit it."  
"Admit what?"  
"Admit that what you really are seeing is not green but rather a shade of red." Shadow said as he picked up the towel from the bowl. He squeezed the water out from the towel and began to clean off the blood from Rouge's face.  
"Pah! As if. I told you before, I don't like the guy. You think I'd be attracted to such a stupid echidna. Well, you're dead wrong! I just want that Master Emerald."  
"Suit yourself…" Shadow replied with a stoic expression. "I wonder who is more stupid: Knuckles or you."  
"What is that suppose to mean?" Rouge shouted as she got out from her seat.  
"Nothing…anyway, sit back down so I can finish mending you."  
Rouge glared at Shadow. In response, Shadow remained very calm. He waited for his friend to sit back down. Once the anger had passed her, Rouge sat back down. Shadow continued to mend her wounds. Once he finished, he placed the towel back in the water. The once white towel was now a shade of pink from the blood he managed to wipe from Rouge. The crystal clear water was no longer its serene color, but rather crimson.  
Straightening herself, Rouge got up from her chair. She felt her entire body ache all of a sudden. _Ugh! _she thought. _It's all because of that Knucklehead! It's all his fault for not giving up already. I'm never going to stop fighting him until I get that emerald. All the world's gems belong to me! I'm the greatest treasure hunter in the world! What kind of a treasure hunter would I be if the jewel I want can't be mine!  
_ As Rouge was lost in thought, her cell phone began to ring. Shadow looked over at the small device that was neatly placed on the table. Part of the cover of the cell phone was dented. _Probably from one of the fights she had with Knuckles,_ he thought. Part of the cell phone's silvery cover was now a dark brown from either dirt or blood.  
"Aren't you going to answer that?" Shadow asked.  
"Fine!" Rouge growled as she lost her chain of thought. She picked up the cell phone and began to talk through it. "Hello? An assignment? Sorry, but I can't go on that one. Why? I…have fallen sick and I can't really do much myself. Yeah, I know. I'll be sure to be ready by next week." Rouge then hung up her phone.  
"You know," Shadow said. "This is the fourth time you've done that. You canceling your missions that were given by the agency because you were wounded by Knuckles."  
"So what?" Rouge replied as he placed one of her hands on her hips. "If they really were getting tired of that, they would have fired me from the beginning."  
"You really need to stop. I think you're approaching it the wrong way."  
"The wrong way? You don't believe that I can negotiate with someone that hates me, do you?"  
"Hate you?" Shadow rose an eyebrow at his companion. "I think you're getting the wrong idea. How do we know that Knuckles hates you?"  
"Easy! He won't let me take that emerald from him and he beats me up every time I challenge him to a fight."  
Shadow just crossed his arms. "Considering that you try to steal an emerald that supports a floating island as well as challenging him to a fight every time: yeah…I can see where this is wrong."  
"Oh shut up! Anyway I'm going to see that Knucklehead as soon as my wounds are healed."  
Shadow let out a sigh. "You're very hopeless and stubborn."  
"You know me."  
"Just do me a favor, don't try to fight him any time soon."  
"Fine! I won't do that."

It had been three days since Rouge had came back to Shadow with a bloodied body. The bat girl looked over at her wound that was on her right arm. Most of the skin had began to grow back again, but it was still a sensitive area. She squirmed a bit as she made a silent vow never to try to block Knuckle's punches with her bare skin ever again.  
Rouge fixed her sunglasses, making sure that not a single wound would be visible to the citizens of Station Square. It was hard to run her club in Night Babylon with a face like her current one, so Shadow had to take over while she went off to get some cosmetics to at least try to cover her disfigurement. The crowded city always seemed so busy. Rouge let out a smile as she knew that no one would ever bother to take the time to look at her.  
Her long black cloak did its best to cover up her wing as well as the bandage that was on the base of her neck. Rouge placed a small finger on her wound. She winced as the pain of that wound was rather unbearable. The white bat looked around the city trying to find a good cosmetic shop. Eventually she found one that was in the large Station Square Mall. Picking up a couple of different colored eyeliners, foundation, powder, and lipstick, Rouge headed off to pay for her make up. However, a rather cheery voice manage to make Rouge's white fur stand on end.  
"Rouge!" Shouted the very familiar voice.  
_Oh dear,_Rouge thought as her left eye widen. _Of all the places, Amy just had to come here and find me._  
"Rouge!" Amy let out as she now stood in front of the government agent. "Long time no see!""H-hi Amy," Rouge let out as she tried not to make eye contact with the younger girl. "Sorry for not stopping by to chat, but I really must be going."  
"Aw, come on and stay for a while!" Amy took a hold of Rouge's bad arm. Upon impact, Rouge's left eye water. She bit down on her lip as she tried not to scream at the moment. "Sonic and Tails are coming here soon. All of us are shopping together. You can join us in our shopping!"  
"Well, I would, but sadly I am already finished with my shopping," Rouge said as she slipped out of Amy's grip. "It's a pity that I have to go so soon."  
"Hold on!"  
As Amy and Rouge were fighting over who should be the keeper of Rouge's right arm, two strange silhouettes were coming at the two bickering girls from the left. One seemed to be a large pile of boxes that were filled with clothing and other merchandise. The second silhouette seemed to be a large flower that was made from nothing more than bags from other stores in the mall. Rouge's jaw dropped as she saw the two figures, but soon began to burst out in laughter as she saw who it was holding Amy's shopping merchandise.  
Holding the dozens of boxes was Sonic the Hedgehog. Nothing of his upper body could be seen. The only way someone could identify that it was him was by his red sneakers and his skinny blue legs. The one holding the bags was young Miles Tails Prower, who apparently was dragged into a shopping spree since Sonic refused to do it alone.  
"Oh my..." Rouge giggled. "Sonic is that you? And Tails...you too?"  
"Huh? That you, Rouge?" Sonic asked as he tried to move his head to see if it really was who he thought. "I can't really move much because then the boxes I'm holding will crush me...like last time. Amy...are we done shopping yet? We didn't actually come for clothes shopping when I said I needed to go to the medicine store in the mall."  
"Oh Sonic," Amy replied, "I barely manage to break through the stress. Anyway, I suppose this can do for some light shopping."  
"Light shopping?" Sonic questioned as he feared what heavy shopping would be for Amy.  
"How come I had to be dragged into this?" Tails asked.  
"Because you're my little friend and friends need to stick together through the good and the bad."  
"I think this is the level that goes beyond bad and hits worse. I am not so sure if friendship does cover that."  
"Oh, come on and take it like the man you are, Sonic," Amy cooed.  
"Listen, I always come and help you with shopping...when you catch me off guard...but we came here for an important reason," Sonic said as his voice got serious. "We need to deliver the medicine we bought and give it to Knuckles."  
"Medicine?" Rouge asked.  
"Yeah. Yesterday, Tails and I went to go visit that Knucklehead, but when we got to the shrine of the Master Emerald, he was pretty wasted. The guy could barely move much."  
"Oh?" Rouge replied as she felt rather nervous at this point. "Did Knuckles...tell you who did that to him?"  
"Eh? No, he didn't tell us. All he said was 'as soon as I get better I'm going to finish this once and for all'. So, if you want to know, we can't tell you."

Rouge's ear perked up a bit as an idea began to form in her mind. She smirked as she thought of such an igenious plan to beat Knuckles and take the Master Emerald._ So, Knucklehead is very vulnerable right now, huh? She thought. This could be my chance to take him out. Not to mention that that medicine will come in handy. I can kill two birds with one stone with this chance.  
_ "Say Sonic," Rouge said. "Since you and Tails seem rather tied with things, why don't you let me take that medicine to him?"

"You take the medicine to Knuckles?" Sonic questioned. "I'm not too sure about that."_I mean, I really want to stop this shopping with Amy and that's my only ticket out of here, _he thought.  
"Oh, that would be wonderful!" Amy giggled as she walked over to Sonic and took the medicine away from him. "Rouge will be a big help to us. Besides, you still need to take those boxes to my apartment and all, so your work isn't done yet."  
"Oh man..." Sonic pouted.  
Rouge smirked at the ground as she took the medicine away from Amy and began to walk out from the mall. Her plan was coming into play. The white colored bat flew over to the train station and took the next train which lead to the Mystic Ruins. Once she arrived to the jungled area she took off her disguise down to her normal heart shaped attired. She looked over at the medicine and opened the vial.  
"Here's to your demise, Knucklehead," Rouge let out as she drank the medicine down.  
She threw the vial out into the ocean and waited for any effects. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to happen. She still felt the pain that she had been feeling a while ago._ What's wrong with this stupid medicine? She thought. Why isn't it working? Ugh! Never mind that! The important thing is that Knuckles is now in a weaken condition and I will be able to take him out this time! Prepare yourself, Knucklehead! Rouge the Bat is coming and this time...its serious.  
_Elsewhere on Angel Island, Knuckles was sitting on the steps of the shrine of the Master Emerald; staring at the sky. He licked his lips but recoiled once he felt a cut. His once serene eyes furrowed down as he remembered the reason as to why he had that cut on his lips. He quickly forgot about that and returned to watching the clouds float about in the sky. The wounds that Knuckles had weren't very severe. He had a few scraps and cuts on his body. His left leg had a rather large wound in which Rouge had managed to kick with her iron boots.  
A small scar was now beginning to form above his left eye. _Forgot about it all, Knuckles thought. It is all in the past. What's important is that the Master Emerald is safe and that I won't see that bat girl any time soon._Knuckles closed his eyes as he let out a soft sigh. Nothing didn't seem to bother him today until he heard the sounds of footsteps coming towards him. That must be Sonic with the medicine.  
"For being the fastest thing alive, you sure took your..." Knuckles teased as he looked over to his left. He cut himself off as he saw a white figure instead of a blue one.  
"I never said I was the fastest," Rouge said as she approached the red echidna. "However, I am the best treasure hunter of all."  
"You!" Knuckles growled as he got up from the steps and took up a fighting position.  
"I told you that whenever I set my eyes on something I will take it no matter what."  
"You talk too much for a wounded target," Knuckles chuckled. "I'll be sure to make this one quick." _I hope Sonic comes soon with that medicine. Even if she's wounded she might be able to land some good hits on me, especially if she aims for my wounds._  
"If you're expecting Sonic to give your precious medicine, then you're dead. I met up with him and his stupid girlfriend gave it to me with no problem."Knuckles' eyes widen when he heard that coming from Rouge. Damn it! He thought as he clenched his fists.  
"What's the matter? You scared of me since now you don't have your precious medicine?"  
"Ha...I don't need it. This time...I won't hold back on you."  
"Neither will I!"  
Rouge and Knuckles both lept into the air. Rouge let out a kick while Knuckles let out a punch. Both attacks were parried on impact. Both teens glared at each other. Violet colored orbs eying the chilly periwinkle ones. Both warriors applied pressure towards each other's limp, but none was willing to falter to the other's strength. Finally, Rouge pushed off from Knuckles. She arched her back as she flew into the air. Her hands softly touched the ground as she flipped over on her two feet.  
Knuckles fell down on the ground. His feet landed hard on the ground and skid down. He used his right hand to apply more friction to the skid so he could stop. Dust began to take to the sky as he managed to stop skidding. He glared at his opponent as she glared back. In a matter of seconds, Knuckles and Rouge rushed towards each other and began to deploy volleys upon volleys of blows.

_Why does she keep doing this? Knuckles thought as he punched Rouge in the face. I really don't enjoy hurting her, but why must she insist on doing this? Why can't she take in consideration that this island needs this emerald? Why is she even fighting me in this condition? _Knuckles managed to dodge a kick from Rouge. Her iron boot almost managed to scrape his head off his shoulders.  
Rouge growled as she twirled and gave Knuckles a direct hit to the head with a back kick. _Stupid Knucklehead!_ She thought as she tried to block the upcoming punch. _Why won't he let it go?! Why can't he see that I want that emerald! I always get what I want!_ Rouge kicked Knuckles, making him drop his guard. An opening! Rouge glared as she summoned all her strength into the upcoming kick.  
Knuckles slowly began to look over at Rouge as he managed to retrieve some strength. It was then that Rouge suddenly saw a familiar flashback. She remembered that both of them were in the same situation as they were before, except they were in space. She had lost her footing and tripped over. Since she was falling on her back, her wings couldn't help her fly. He took a hold of hand and helped her up.  
Rouge wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline back then or if it was something more, but that time she never saw Knuckles the way she has been seeing him. She stopped herself from kicking the beaten echidna. Her foot softly landed underneath his chin as if she was caressing it. She felt her entire body shiver as she saw Knuckles' confused purple orbs.  
The white bat didn't know why she felt herself burn up. _Stop looking at me this way, _she growled in her thought. Rouge turned herself away from Knuckles as she slowly brought her foot down. A slight blush played around Rouge's pale cheeks. _Why did I do that? She thought. Why am I even here to begin with? _Rouge began to walk away from a very confused Knuckles.  
"R-Rouge?" Knuckles asked.  
"I'm done..." Rouge replied with a rather dead tone.  
"Done? What do you mean done?"  
Rouge didn't reply to that. Instead, the white bat just flew away as best as she could towards the Mystic Ruins. Once she arrived on the mainland, Rouge looked up at the sky. The once sunny atmosphere soon turned gray. A tiny drop of water fell on her forehead. It wasn't long until the rain began to pour like crazy. Drops fell down from her eyes. She didn't know if it was from the rain drops or if it was from her own tears.  
Up in Angel Island, Knuckles hadn't had a clue as to what happened to Rouge. He wasn't too sure if she was upset over something or if she wasn't feeling well. He slowly brought up one of his hands to touch his chin where Rouge's foot just rested._She held back,_ he thought. _But why would she? I told her I wasn't...so why...? _  
"Hey Knuckles!" Shouted Sonic.  
"Sonic?" Knuckles asked as he looked over his shoulder. There standing next to the shrine were Sonic, Tails, and Amy.  
"Whoa..." Tails let out. "Knuckles, you don't look too good. What happened to you? I thought Rouge gave you the medicine."  
"Rouge..."

A week had gone by since the last fight between Knuckles and Rouge. Rouge had healed completely by then though her emotional wounds had not healed. She was still lost in thought over the events of what had happened. She felt as if she was being teared apart by something. Shadow began to worry for her, however, he was beginning to see what was wrong. From the story that Rouge had told him, Shadow was beginning to have the evidence he needed to back up his theory about his roommate.  
Rouge sat on the roof of her nightclub. The evening looked rather lovely that night. She looked up at the stars. They're beautiful tonight, she thought. I wonder...if you can see them from up there. I wonder if he is seeing the same sky as I am. Shadow walked over to Rouge. He wasn't too sure on what to tell her when it came to things like this, but he had to try something in order to get the old Rouge back and not stay with this zombie replica.  
"Have you tried talking to him?" Shadow asked right out of the blue.  
"Talk to who?" Rouge asked.  
"You know who. The one you're thinking about right now."  
"I told you before...he hates me."  
"If he truly hated you...you think he wouldn't have saved you then? You think he would have killed you when you hesitated last week? Face it: he at least feels some compassion towards you. For once stop being the stubborn girl you are and try to patch things up with him. He isn't going to make the first move so you better do it yourself. I don't know about you...but I would be sick and tired of playing around with myself and really get in touch with what I really want. If you need me, I'll be back down stairs tending to the costumers."  
"Shadow..." Rouge said softly. "Thank you."  
Shadow didn't respond. He just merely tried to smile nicely to Rouge before he left towards the downstairs. Rouge just continue to look at the stars. It wasn't until the inner conflict in her mind finally settled down. She took flight and headed towards Station Square. It took Rouge the next morning for her to get to the Mystic Ruins.  
The sun was barely starting to rise through the eastern sky. She let out a sigh as she ignored the beautiful sunrise and flew over to Angel Island. Just as Rouge was approaching the Shrine of the Master Emerald, she looked over at a bit of ice from the ice cave. She saw herself and let out a grunt. Her eyeliner was running, her eyeshadow looked way too uneven, and her lipstick was smeared. Her once nicely groomed hair cut was now all messy from the lack of sleep she had. Quickly, the began to spruce herself up. Once she thought she was at least presentable, she walked over to the shrine.  
Once she reached the shrine, she was surprised not to see any trace of Knuckles anywhere. _I guess he went off to find something to eat or something, _she thought. Rouge looked at the lone Master Emerald. Her eyes sparkled as she noticed how much of an opportunity this was for her now. She rushed up the steps of the shrine and gazed right at the giant green jewel._ I don't believe it,_ she thought as she placed a hand on the emerald._ It can be mine now! And I don't have to worry about that Knucklehead attacking me!  
_Suddenly, her drive to take the emerald away died. She didn't know why she was now very hesitant to take the emerald now that it was in reach and unprotected._ Why? Why can't I take it? _Rouge's left arm shook as she slowly pulled it down to her side._ Why can't I...? _A frown fell dead on her face. The white bat slowly sat down on the steps of the shrine and looked down at the ground. _  
_ "I have waited months to take this emerald away," she said, "now I can't. I don't know why I can't just take that blasted thing and run from this!"  
Rouge was angry with herself. She didn't know why her body couldn't respond to her mind. She didn't know why her heart was taking over so much. So many questions yet Rouge had no answers for them. Instead she looked up at the sky. The serene silence was almost killing her. She couldn't stand at how quiet or lonely it was.  
"Is this what he has to put up everyday?" Rouge asked. "I can't even last five minutes in this silence and in such solitude. He rarely ever goes into the city or any civilization for that matter. I wonder...if he enjoys it...or if he even gets lonely here." Rouge felt such sorrow over come her. "I wish he could at least tell me how its like to be here. Does he really desire to guard that emerald all his life being all alone? Doesn't he ever want fall in love and be with someone? Why am I thinking about all these questions? Am I that bored?"  
Rouge shook her head. She let out a frustrated sigh. Slowly, she brought herself down on the stone ground. She looked back at the clouds and noticed that each one of them began to take into familiar forms. After entertaining herself by looking at the clouds, she began to feel drowsy. Her eyes were beginning to close as sleep began to take over. It must have been hours before she woke up due to a dark shadow that was blocking her sunlight. Slowly she opened her eyes to see Knuckles standing over her. His long red locks had fell down from his shoulders as he was leaning over the sleeping agent.  
Rouge let out a scream. Knuckles let out a yell from being startled. Rouge tried to get up and away from Knuckles, she took a hold of one of his locks and pulled on it by accident. The yank was too hard that it manage to knock Knuckles down to his knees and on top of the white bat. His chin was hovering over her forehead as right leg was now in the middle of Rouge's legs. Rouge's face was now buried on Knuckles' soft, red furred chest. She felt a large blush rising up in her cheeks. She had gotten close to the echidna before, but not this close.  
After a few moments of sitting in an awkward position, both teens pulled away from each other and sat down on the stairs of the shrine. None was willing to make eye contact with each other as they felt embarrassed through the entire thing.  
"What are you doing here?" Knuckles asked bluntly as he tried to break the ice.  
"I...I came here..." Rouge started to say.  
"If its about the Master Emerald, forget it!"  
"If I wanted the emerald...I would have taken it a long time ago. I've been here for a while."  
"Oh...then...why would you come here. Its not like you wanted to come here for some friendly chat."  
"Actually...that is the reason..."  
"What?"  
"Didn't you hear what I said? That is the reason why I'm here. I came to talk to you."  
Knuckles looked at Rouge with a strange expression. Rouge's periwinkle eyes squinted a bit as she felt a bit hurt. She didn't know what to say to him at this point, so she turned away from him and bit her lip softly. It felt like an eternity to Rouge as the silence kept on going. _I shouldn't have came, _she thought. _This is by far the most awkward situation I ever been in.  
_"So...what did you want to talk about?" Knuckles asked.  
"I...I wanted to know..." Rouge replied quietly, "if...what I mean is...what you thought about me. What do you think of me?"  
Knuckles didn't have an answer for that. The only thoughts he had on Rouge were always in an angered rage which clouded his judgement. It was strange for anyone to ask him a question about what he thought about people. He really didn't have much of an opinion since he really didn't know Rouge that much. Of course that's because neither of the two of them were willing to do that.  
"I don't know..." the red echidna replied. "I don't know you that much...because we never got to know each other."  
"Then...perhaps...we should get to know each other." Rouge smiled slightly. "Why don't you go first? Talk about...well your parents, your interests and such."  
"My parents?" Knuckles looked up at the sky. "I...never really met them. Ever since the day I was born...all I remember was being left here in front of the shrine of the Master Emerald. I don't know why...but I felt like it was my responsibility to stay here and protect it. It wasn't until I saw the murals of my tribe which told the story about the emerald and the prophecy."  
"Prophecy?" Rouge asked.  
"It is strange...at first I wasn't sure what to make out on it. I was surprised when I saw Sonic. In the mural, I saw two figures. One was the figure that looked like Sonic and the other was a mural that looked...almost like Eggman. In the mural, they were both fighting and in the middle was the Master Emerald. Along with other writings, the caves told me the story of what the emerald does. I believe...the reason why I was left here was so I can protect the emerald. It is my duty to do this until I die."  
"And the day you die...what will happen the emerald then? Who's going to take care of it?"  
"I...don't know. I really haven't thought about that."  
"Heh," Rouge giggled, "you weren't planning about having a little Knuckles Jr. were you?"  
"The thought...never came to my mind."  
"Its alright. Believe me...parents aren't all that great. I...ran away from home when I was thirteen and I have been on my own since then."  
"Were they bad parents?"  
Rouge thought about that for a moment. She looked over the horizon of the island. "No...I don't think they were. I think...I was a bad child. I don't know what I was thinking...but I suppose I somewhat regret it. I don't know where they are anymore nor do I remember much of what they looked like. Anyway, go on about your interests and such."  
"Well...considering that I have to use what's on this island, I'm limited to anything electronic. However, I do enjoy exploring this island and its caves for treasure. I just do it for fun to pass the time. I don't really care for treasure since I take no value in it."  
_He just does this because there isn't much to do..._Rouge thought. _While I do it because I want all the jewels to myself.  
_"I know that you're a treasure hunter as well," Knuckles continued, "but...don't you do anything else besides that? Or are you that much in love with jewels?"  
"This is going to sound crazy..." Rouge replied. "But...I like to dance. That's why I opened a nightclub in Night Babylon. I love...the feel of the music going through my body. It is like...I can finally relax and enjoy something without risking my life."  
"Sounds like something you might do."  
"What's that suppose to mean?!"  
Throughout the early afternoon until the early evening, Knuckles and Rouge spent the time talking and listening to each other. Both had never had a chance to express themselves like they were doing now. Rouge smiled and giggled as Knuckles told her stories about his adventures confronting Sonic and Eggman. In return, Rouge told him a couple of stories that happened to her when she turned into a government agent. Rouge and Knuckles were laying on the cold stone ground of the shrine. Both were looking up at the early evening sky.  
"Heh, I didn't know that Sonic was afraid of water," Rouge said as she let out a small giggle.  
"He is," Knuckles replied. "He gets very tense if you mention any word of going into a swimming pool."  
"Just to let you in on a small secret: Shadow likes soft romance music."  
"Really now? I didn't think Mr. Tough Almighty was such a softy."  
"Wow...I never thought that in one day we could bond as much as we did right now."  
"I never had this much fun in a long time. Not even...when my friends come and visit."  
"Really now? I suppose I should come often huh?"  
"Maybe you should."  
Just then Knuckles felt silent. He wasn't too sure why he said that just now. He really did enjoy Rouge's company, but he wasn't too sure if he enjoyed it a little too much then he should. He did feel a bit strange around her at the moment. His eyes soon followed Rouge's figure as she sat up. Her face beamed up with delight as she saw something in the sky.  
"Look!" She shouted. "The first star of the evening!"  
"What's so special about it?" Knuckles slowly got up to a sitting position. He didn't take notice that his hand was now on top of Rouge's gloved hand.  
"Its a small little thing, but...they say if you see the first star of the evening, you can make a wish. If your wish is true then it will come true."  
Knuckles looked up at the star. He had never done this before. He didn't have any idea what to wish for since he really didn't need anything. However, his eyes shifted over to the figure of Rouge who had her eyes closed. _I wish I can spend more time with you,_ he thought. _I suppose that's the only thing I can wish for._  
Knuckles didn't know that at the same time, Rouge was thinking about a similar wish. She had wished to spend more time with the red echidna herself. She opened her eyes and looked over at Knuckles who apparently was staring at her. Both managed to smile at one another before they began to lean towards each other. Rouge closed her eyes as Knuckles did too. Both of their lips were just centimeters from touching each other. Rouge could feel Knuckles' warm breath against her lips.  
_I wonder if I should?_ Rouge thought._ I don't want him to think that I'm easy. However, how long have I've been wanting this? It was like subconsciously this is what I've been waiting for. Why was it that I wanted that emerald so badly yet...I could never really have it. What if...my emerald...wasn't green...but rather...red._ At this point, Rouge didn't care anymore about what happened before. Her lips lightly touched Knuckles' rough lips. It was a soft and gentle kiss. Once Rouge broke away from it, she turned away from Knuckles. Knuckles blushed dark crimson before he looked away as well.  
"I better get going," Rouge said. "I have work tomorrow."  
"Alright, then I will see you later," Knuckles replied. "One last thing before you leave: are you still going to come back here to take what you want?"  
Rouge got up and began to walk towards the edge of the island. "I told you," Rouge said without turning to see Knuckles, "I always get what I want. Of course I'll be back for more."  
Rouge jumped off from the edge of the island and glided back down to the Mystic Ruins safely, leaving a rather confused Knuckles behind. Knuckles just scratched his head. _What did she mean by more?_ He thought.

_Finally I'm done with such a one shot. I hope it was okay and that the characters weren't way off. I feel like I did a mediocre job on this, but I'll let you guys be the judge of that._


End file.
